Oh Sundays. We have a love-hate relationship. I love that Sundays are an extension of the weekend (which is sometimes non-existent due to work). I love that Sundays are days where we go to church and worship together. I love that Sundays are often “catch up” days. I hate that Sundays are the day before Monday. I hate that I often feel rushed and overwhelmed to do EVERYTHING on a Sunday (especially if it was a working weekend for us). And I hate that I seem to get really stressed or down on Sundays and I turn into a grump. No one (including myself) likes a grumpy Holly.

Next week, we’ll be headed back to school. Thankfully, classes start on Wednesday, so we have Monday and Tuesday to prep for classes to begin on Wednesday. This is Daniel’s last semester of college!!! Yippee! I’ll only be taking two classes again so I can continue working my regular schedule. That being said, today (Sunday) was a day of preparation, specifically- food preparation!

I’ve been keeping up with Budgeting/Meal Planning for a while now, and I make sure to use extra weekend time to make meals that will last in the fridge for those nights when we just need a quick dinner. Since I’m feeling particularly lazy on this Sunday, I’ll give you some GORGEOUS photos from the fabulous bloggers who gave me some great recipes for this week! I poked around online and found some fabulous recipes from Gina at Skinnytaste.com.

Daniel usually eats lunch on campus, and I’ll usually take leftovers if I’m working, or I’ll make an omelet with cheese and veggies (and some type of carb) if I eat lunch at home. I made some Hash Brown Egg White Nests from Skinnytaste.com for a quick veggie and protein filled snack. I left out the ham from the original recipe, and I subbed in some Cheddar Cheese and Grated Parmesan for the Swiss cheese that the recipe called for.

I also made some Chocolate Chip “Zee” Bars from Peas and Thank You to take for a sweeter snack! The “Zee” Bars taste great on their own, but I microwaved mine for about 20 seconds and spread a little bit of Natural Peanut Butter on top and it was a super delicious dessert!

One more thing: Soup in a Jar. I usually pack Soup in a Jar for lunch twice a week on the days that I’m nannying. Served up alongside a gluten-free quesadilla or grilled cheese and a Chobani yogurt? Fabulous lunch! (sorry for the cell phone pictures, but you get the idea)

Put ingredients into a mason jar for ultimate portability: leftover rice, frozen veggies, bits of meat from last night’s dinner, herbs, a bit of broth or bullion, tomato paste, etc. Then, when it’s lunch time, just add some water, heat (in the jar with the LID OFF or pour into a mug/bowl), and eat! You don’t have to worry about liquids sloshing and spilling in your lunchbox or purse, and you can just give the jar a quick rinse when you’re finished!

Now that I feel prepped for the upcoming week, I feel less stressed and definitely less grumpy.

(cell phone pic from when we took my little brother Ice Skating outside in Downtown Lexington!)

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Welcome!

I'm Holly. A Christian wife and first-time mom in Cincinnati. This is my niche to write about our lives- we are a mostly gluten-free, cloth-diapering, budgeting family. I try to honor my body by exercising regularly and by creating nutritious meals for my family. Welcome to The Cooper Family blog!